


Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul that you never knew was missing

by DM500 (DapperMuffin)



Series: Reed900 Stuff [6]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Boyfriends, Character Study, Denial of Feelings, Experimental Style, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Flustered Gavin, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, Getting Together, Happy Ending, It/Its Pronouns for Upgraded Connor | RK900, M/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Memories, No Dialogue, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Romantic Fluff, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Sort Of, Time Skips, Tina is a good friend, Upgraded Connor | RK900 is In Denial About Deviancy, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, for the first part anyway, gavin smokes, gavin swearing, i just want my boys to be happy, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 01:12:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18305150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DapperMuffin/pseuds/DM500
Summary: When he met the RK900, Gavin couldn't have predicted how much they'd come to mean to each other. He'd never have imagined he'd end up loving an android, let alone marrying one.





	Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul that you never knew was missing

**Author's Note:**

> Oops, wrote another Reed900 fic :P I'm obsessed, sue me, David Cage
> 
> I was very heavily influenced by about ten of these prompts, and I managed to work them in there https://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/ (feel free to guess which ones if you want)
> 
> I was experimenting with writing something with almost no dialogue, since I tend to rely too heavily on dialogue to relay my characters' thoughts, so I wanted to see what I could do with something like this. Anyway, hope you enjoy!<3

Gavin still recalled how he'd reacted upon being assigned an android partner. He'd moaned and bitched about it for several minutes until Fowler threatened to fire him, and he'd realized this was non-negotiable.

 

The first time he'd made eye contact with the upgraded tin can, he'd felt trapped by those eyes. He was stuck in place by their glare and he shuddered, this must be how a criminal would feel, except the prick glared like that at everyone.

 

At the start, they'd seemed complete opposites, something Connor and Hank had commented on quite often. In the first week they'd worked together, it was impossible to count the broken coffee mugs and times one had shoved the other against a wall.

 

The first time the RK900 had shown snark, he'd assumed the damn thing was broken, but apparently it'd just been ‘programmed that way,’ whatever the fuck that meant. Either way, he'd stopped working at his terminal to take a good, long look at the android's face, and it hadn't looked deviant yet, its LED still a steady blue.

 

He'd been pissed the first time RK900 saved his life; he could take care of himself, after all, just because he hadn't seen one bullet… The android wasn't very badly harmed, and Gavin ignored whatever ridiculous part of himself was making him think he'd have felt guilty if it had been hurt too badly.

 

He'd forced RK900 to stay at his home for the night once he'd found out that the asshole was staying in one of the charging pods at the DPD overnight. He'd muttered something about how that wasn't a proper fuckin place to stay, to which the android had the nerve to look  _ puzzled _ .

 

Gavin's two cats had immediately taken a liking to the android; maybe he smelled nice or something, Gavin had no clue, it wasn't like  _ he'd _ sniffed the tin can or anything. (At least, he'd always deny it.)

 

That was the day that the AC in Gavin's apartment had broken, and after a heated phone conversation, he'd discovered it wouldn't be fixed until the following week. He'd experienced difficulty trying to fall asleep that night, and RK900 had expressed the wish to help warm Gavin up with its built-in temperature system. Gavin had disagreed wildly, but after an hour of tossing and turning, eventually called the android back in. Not looking at it, possibly concealing a blush in the darkness, he'd conceded to RK900’s offer.

 

That was the first time they'd shared a bed.

 

The next morning, Gavin had woken to find that RK900 had made him breakfast, which it continued to do for the next week, until the AC was fixed. RK900 had then attempted to go back to staying at the DPD overnight, which Gavin had put a stop to by telling the android, in front of all their coworkers, it could stay at Gavin's apartment for as long as he'd like.

 

The first time RK900 had flirted with him, he'd done a spittake on his coffee, almost choking on it in the process. The android had half-heartedly patted him on the back until he stopped coughing, and had refrained from flirting with him again.

 

The first time Gavin had called RK900 Nines, the android had been shot. Gavin had yelled the abbreviated nickname he'd secretly been using all along in his head as he ran to the android's side. The shot hadn't been fatal, and RK900 turned out okay, but he'd taken a liking to ‘Nines’ and decided to keep the nickname.

 

Gavin knew Nines wasn't a deviant, was programmed specifically not to be, but couldn't help his wishful thinking. Sometimes he'd see some mannerism of Nines' or hear some tone in his voice that momentarily tricked Gavin into thinking the android was human. But whenever they seemed to have a ‘moment,’ Nines would suddenly snap back into a machine, back into his overly formal language and unusually stiff posture.

 

_ His? _ When had Gavin started referring to the android as ‘he’? ...maybe when he gave the damn thing a name.

 

Gavin did his best to hide the growing feelings he had for the RK model, knowing they were likely to never be reciprocated, but Gavin had never been very good at subtlety. At least the android had never noticed when Gavin's eyes would shift from his eyes to his lips in the middle of a conversation.

 

And sometimes Nines wanted to say something to Gavin—’wanted,’ he wasn't a deviant, he couldn't ‘want’—tried to say something heartfelt, and it was like he'd been running and suddenly slammed face-first into a brick wall—either way, the wall was red.

 

He wasn't a deviant, he kept telling himself that… but just saying something didn't make it true. Sometimes he'd feel  _ scared _ for Gavin's wellbeing, and then scared Amanda would figure out the cause of his frequent software instabilities. There was only so much he could do…

 

He only had so much time left.

 

Meanwhile, Gavin struggled with how he'd gotten used to having Nines around, gotten used to sharing a bed with him. It scared him how much he knew he'd miss the RK900 if something happened, if he got sent back to Cyberlife or deactivated.

 

One day, it almost happened—Fowler called Reed and Nines into the office. What he wanted to talk to them about was this: Cyberlife wished to recall Nines to reassign him to the FBI. It was a ‘great opportunity’ for Nines, apparently, and Gavin tried to just listen, tried to keep his temper under check, but he'd never had that much self-control. He'd ended up yelling how Nines was  _ his _ partner, and nobody here wanted him to leave. In fact, their coworkers  _ had _ gotten rather attached to both Connor and Nines, a fact he used in his rant. He went on about how they're people, and Nines should get to choose whether he wanted to stay or go.

 

Nines felt  _ something _ stirring in him as a result of Gavin's hot-tempered speech, what it was exactly, he wasn't sure.

 

Fowler showed surprise that Gavin wanted so badly for the RK model to stay, when months ago, he'd made such a huge fuss, but Gavin countered with how big of an advantage Nines was for the precinct. Sighing, Fowler turned to Nines to ask his opinion on the matter.

 

_ Opinion _ —having an opinion was synonymous with  _ free will _ , something Nines didn't possess. His mission objective read, [ RETURN TO CYBERLIFE FOR REASSIGNMENT ], but something had awoken in Nines when he heard Gavin yelling about how he was  _ his _ partner, and the FBI couldn't have him, and he  _ belonged _ here. A sense of belonging is also a deviant trait, but as he realized this, he realized he  _ did _ feel that sense of belonging here at the DPD that Gavin had mentioned. Nines wanted to stay at the DPD with Gavin, with Connor, with Tina, with Hank. He'd grown close to his coworkers, and this was his choice—

 

Nines broke the red wall blocking his vision, shattering the words directing him to leave, throwing all of his will against it.  _ His _ will, it had a nice ring, and as his vision cleared, he saw Gavin staring at him, he and Fowler still waiting for his answer. Firmly, evenly, he replied that he wanted to stay at the DPD, and the FBI could go fuck themselves—and the look on Fowler's face as he stormed out, one eyebrow raised haughtily, was precious.

 

Nines found himself suddenly overwhelmed by the new wave of information—no,  _ emotions _ —that washed over him, stepping outside into an alleyway to take a break. His LED cycled between red and yellow, back and forth and back and forth. He heard the soft footfalls of Gavin behind him, but didn't turn to look at the detective until they stood side by side.

 

Gavin expressed a mixture of wonder and confusion about what he'd just seen in Fowler's office, and Nines calmly explained that he was deviant now. The surprise was evident as Gavin's eyes widened.

 

Gavin whispered something Nines didn't make out, and when asked to repeat it, claimed it was nothing. Nines remained unconvinced, but dropped it.

 

They continued to stand side by side in an alley outside the precinct, and Gavin fished for his lighter to light a cigarette. Inserting the cigarette in his mouth, a plume of smoke issued from the other end.

 

Nines had picked up on most of Gavin's habits by now. Apart from his usual dose in the morning, caffeine served as a distraction for him, and smoking had always been how he dealt with stress. Nines could see straight through Gavin's calm façade, straight into the person underneath. He'd been witness to one or two of Gavin's breakdowns at the apartment, and knew that the detective wasn't as put together as he tried to seem.

 

Still, Nines knew better than to pry into Reed's business. His previous attempts had never ended well, and he'd long since learned it was a bad idea.

 

So he was taken aback when, after a few minutes, Gavin dropped the cigarette remains on the ground, crushing it with a foot, before turning to Nines. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for an instant before surging up to meet Nines’ lips with his own, his hands all over Nines—and it wasn't so bad. Nines went to match his enthusiasm, and shortly after, Gavin pulled away, face flushed, panting, avoiding Nines’ eye as he always did when embarrassed.

 

Gavin proceeded to apologize for several minutes, and Nines simply watched him, a sly smirk on his usually stoic face. When Gavin ran out of steam, Nines grabbed his jaw, going on to kiss him again. (Was this android heaven? At the very least, if there  _ was _ a heaven for androids, this would be Nines’.)

 

As Gavin and Nines pulled apart for the second time, somebody wolf-whistled from the door behind them. Turning, Nines grimaced slightly; it was Tina Chen, grinning widely, and Connor stood sheepishly behind her. Nines briefly scolded them for watching and eavesdropping, then they disappeared back inside, and Nines turned back to Gavin, who seemed mortified that they'd been seen. He assured Gavin he'd make sure their friends don't spill their secret, coaxing him back inside. Once Gavin's face no longer showed traces of a blush, he agreed, and they went back to work at their terminals.

 

Gavin had never had much of a reason to take anything slowly; he was always rushing, but it occurred to him that maybe this was one of those things you do at your own pace. He decided he wouldn't pressure Nines into anything, and instead, he'd wait for the android to suggest that they try something.

 

Besides, why would Gavin want to rush when he could just watch that beautiful smile of Nines’? It wasn't a very large smile, but many things about Nines were subtle, and so the soft curve of his lips suited him. Sometimes he'd come to his senses and figure out he'd been staring, but Nines wouldn't remark about it, just give him a sly wink which always made Gavin's neck heat up. The android bastard knew  _ exactly _ what he was doing, he was sure of it.

 

They'd been lying close together in the same bed before, but now they were closer than ever; only slightly closer physically but much closer emotionally. Gavin was usually little spoon, which he'd never admit. Frequently, Nines would bury his face in his partner's shoulder, laying rows of kisses down his arm or down his back parallel to his spine, which always triggered goosebumps to cover Gavin.

 

A year after they'd gotten together, Nines had taken Gavin out on a date, much to his surprise, but it had all been for something bigger. Nines had canceled his reservation at whatever fancy restaurant he'd intended they eat at, realizing with a laugh when they were halfway there that neither of them would've enjoyed eating at that restaurant very much. Instead, they bribed one of their coworkers for a pair of tickets to a movie, promising a handsome compensation for the last-minute swap.

 

The movie was a sci-fi movie that was apparently supposed to be quite cheesy, but Nines rather liked it–or maybe that was just because he'd made a tradition with Gavin to watch cheesy movies together every Friday and Saturday night. The plot was easier to follow than he'd expected, but he got distracted three-quarters of the way through when Gavin wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he leaned his head against his partner.

 

After the movie, they returned home together, and Nines stifled his nervousness the best he could. If he still had an LED, it would've been spinning yellow; six months ago, he'd removed it, and, as a half-anniversary present, strung the now permanently blue ring of light on a silver chain, which he slipped around Gavin's neck. Gavin had almost cried, the knot in his throat quite painful to swallow, and Nines had embraced him.

 

Now, however, he had quite a different gift to give Gavin. He ran his hands several times through his curly brown hair, reminding himself to stay calm. Gavin shot him a few suspicious glances as he drove, but said nothing.

 

They got home, and Nines’ fingers felt for the small box in his pocket as he began to speak. If he were human, his voice would've shaken, but he wasn't human, he was still an android.

 

As an android, his voice remained smooth as he went on. Nines had long since memorized what he would say, and so he hardly listened to his own words; instead, rapt, he watched Gavin's face as he spoke and finally when he knelt on one knee.

 

“Gavin Reed, will you marry me?”

 

The next thing Nines knew, Gavin's arms had been thrown around his neck, and he heard Gavin's whisper of “yes,” into his neck. He heard his partner sniffling, and pulled back slightly to ask if Gavin is crying, and, in fact, he is. Gavin tells him to shut up, and Nines knows by now that he's incredibly sappy, despite his tough exterior.

 

Flash forward a month or two, and Gavin paces in the room where he'd gotten ready. He's not sure about this anymore.

 

Tina flounces in, shoulder-length hair lightly curled, wearing a raspberry-colored dress. Quickly, Gavin stop moving, but he knows she knows he'd been pacing.

 

Leaning forward towards the mirror to touch up her lipstick, she questions what Gavin's problem is, reminding him that she's his best friend and he's practically legally required to tell her everything. Sighing, he obliges, and all of his worry and anxiety about today and his future with Nines spills out.

 

Gavin never thought anybody would love him, let alone enough to marry him. He's worried that  _ something _ today will go wrong, and it will be his fault, but he wants this to be perfect for Nines.

 

Tina expresses her relief that he's not getting cold feet. She reminds him that Nines loves him more than anything else, and he has no reason to worry, because Nines had to do all the planning for this, and since when has anything Nines done been short of perfect? (And Gavin knows there's a dirty joke there somewhere, but he lets Tina go on.) She fixes his tie, which he never learned how to tie right, as she reassures him that today will go perfectly, and in a few minutes, Gavin will go out there, the music will play, Nines will walk down the aisle, and Gavin's going to kiss that man, and Gavin is going to  _ marry _ that man. Gavin, surprisingly pumped up now, remembers how good Tina is at this. He thanks her, and then he has to wait at the top of the steps.

 

Gavin checks his watch every few seconds—even with Tina's encouragement, he's still a little paranoid—but sure enough, the music starts, the doors open—

 

Gavin's breath is stolen away in an instant as he sees the man who stands there. Nines is wearing a light blue suit, his tie a few shades darker. He's pretty sure Nines is wearing makeup, which is odd until he recalls that Tina had offered to do that for him. Nines’ hair is slicked back in a style reminiscent of how his hair had looked when he'd come from Cyberlife, which Gavin suspects might be on purpose.

 

He doesn't even realize he's still holding his breath until Nines reaches the stage opposite him and he remembers to breathe. Nines is stunning; he's always been, but when he's in a suit, Gavin has a hard time paying attention to anything else, particularly when he smiles that soft yet still sly smile that he only saves for Gavin.

 

In fact, Gavin is so distracted that he doesn't even notice it's time for the vows until Nines stifles a chuckle, muttering his name out of the corner of his mouth. Snapping back, everyone is staring at him, and he’s almost certain he missed his cue, so he hastened to say those two syllables. The priest then asks Nines the exact same thing, and Nines replied with those two little words, and suddenly Gavin is in Nines’ arms, and he’s kissing his  _ husband, _ and a few of the guests are cheering, but Gavin feels like he’s the only person in the world when Nines is kissing him breathless. 

 

For a while, Gavin had lived a crappy existence, alone in the dark, walking through an endless hallway devoid of light. Then Nines had appeared, and Gavin found that Nines almost glowed; the light at the end of his tunnel. Nines was the only person Gavin had loved who’d actually made him feel truly loved in return, and Gavin knows this is, and quite likely, always will be, the happiest moment of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't usually write in present tense or past perfect tense, so if I slipped up anywhere, let me know. I ended up typing this on my phone, so there's a greater chance of typos, and some of the sentences are a little funky, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!


End file.
